Runway Review: Vera Wang

Only an established designer like Vera Wang would have the chutzpah to include a charcoal-colored ballgown embellished with lemony gold and silver crystal embroidery in her bridal collection. And only in Vera's skilled hands could such a creation turn out to be a masterpiece (instead of a hot mess). It's the kind of gown any fashion editor would love to shoot, perhaps on a gray, misty day on some craggy cliff for added drama, or maybe, just maybe, in a forest somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, where the trees are huge, dark, and glisten after it rains. If only Brides Local Magazines came out more than twice a year, and if only we had a Vanity Fair-sized budget! But the point is, every season, there are a few wedding dresses that literally inspire editors, conjuring up story concepts that never would have occurred to us otherwise. And while that spangled charcoal situation still has me planning a never-gonna-happen photo shoot partially inspired by Daphne Dumaurier's Rebecca, certainly there were plenty of potential "muses" on offer at her presentation on Thursday—and they're coming soon to a fashion well near you.